Method and apparatus for always-on voice client service on mobile computing devices

ABSTRACT

A telecommunications device including a laptop computer having a telephony soft client. According to embodiments of the present invention, calls may be received even when the laptop computer is turned off. The laptop computer wakes up responsive to detecting an incoming call. In some embodiments, the system checks on a user presence status before waking up the laptop. In some embodiments, the telephony soft client may be quick booted to allow a user to make an emergency telephone call, without fully booting the laptop computer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to telecommunications systems. More particularly,the invention relates to an improved telephony client for mobilecomputing devices.

2. Description of the Related Art

Users increasingly desire to be able to make and receive telephone callsat all times. The typical methods for such access are a landline and/ora cellular telephone. A landline, however, is not always available or itcan be very expensive, especially for long distance calls. A cellulartelephone likewise can be expensive, depending on whether the user is inhis service area, or may not be available at all, such as when travelingoutside a service area or to a foreign country that employs a differentcellular telephone standard.

Because of these difficulties, the use of mobile computing devices, suchas laptop or notebook computers, as telephony devices is increasinglycommon. Such devices typically employ a telephony “soft client” toimplement voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) functionality in order tocommunicate by voice over a packet network, such as a local area network(LAN) or the Internet.

A disadvantage of the use of telephony soft clients is that calls may bemade and received only when the entire mobile computing device is turnedon. When a mobile computing device is plugged in to an electricaloutlet, this may not be a problem. However, laptop or notebook computerscannot be always on because the battery only provides power for amaximum of several hours.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A telecommunications device in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention includes a laptop computer having a telephony softclient. According to embodiments of the present invention, calls may bereceived even when the laptop computer is turned off. The laptopcomputer wakes up responsive to detecting an incoming call. In someembodiments, the system checks on a user presence status before wakingup the laptop. In some embodiments, the telephony soft client may bequick booted to allow a user to make an emergency telephone call,without fully booting the laptop computer

A laptop computer in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention includes a telephony soft client. In some embodiments, thetelephony soft client is maintained in flash ROM while the laptopcomputer is turned off. The telephony soft client loads into memory in aquick boot procedure when an incoming call is detected or it is desiredto make an outgoing call. In some embodiments, the entire laptop neednot boot.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the telephonysoft client may be active to receive a call even if the laptop computeris password-protected. Access may be restricted to the telephony softclient. According to some embodiments, outgoing emergency calls may beplaced without entering the laptop password.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood, and its numerousobjects, features, and advantages made apparent to those skilled in theart by referencing the accompanying drawings. The use of the samereference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identicalitems.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system according to embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B illustrate an exemplary mobile computing deviceaccording to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the mobile computing device of FIGS. 2A and2B.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates exemplary operation of embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6A-FIG. 6C are diagrams of exemplary user interfaces for use withembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating operation of an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating operation of an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary user interface for use with embodimentsof the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating operation of an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Turning now to the drawings and, with particular attention to FIG. 1, adiagram of a telecommunications system 100 according to an embodiment ofthe present invention is shown. In some embodiments, one or more of thecomponents of the system 100 may be connected to or in communicationwith each other via a communication network over which a user may sendand receive telephone calls.

The network 102 may be or include the public switched telephone network(PSTN), the Internet, World Wide Web, a local area network, or someother public or private computer, cable, telephone, client/server,peer-to-peer, or communication network or intranet. In some embodiments,the communication network 102 can also include other public and/orprivate wide area networks, local area networks, wireless networks, datacommunications networks, or connections, intranets, routers, satellitelinks, microwave links, cellular or telephone networks, radio links,fiber optic transmission lines, ISDN lines, T1 lines, DSL connections,etc. Moreover, as used herein, communications include those enabled bywired or wireless technology. In some embodiments, some or all of thenetwork 102 may be implemented using a TCP/IP network and may implementvoice or multimedia over IP using, for example, the Session InitiationProtocol (SIP).

User devices, such as user devices 104, 106 may be connected to or incommunication with the telecommunications network 102. In certainembodiments, the user devices 104, 106 may be implemented as telephones,cellular telephones, PDAs, or mobile computing devices, such ascomputers, hard or soft clients, etc. For example, user devices 104, 106may be embodied as desk or laptop personal computers implementing theWindows XP operating system and the Explorer web browser. In addition,the user devices 104, 106 may include telephony and other multimediamessaging capability using, for example, peripheral cameras, Webcams,microphones, and speakers (not shown) or peripheral telephony handsets,such as the optPoint handset available from Siemens Communication, Inc.The telephony client 108 may implement a voice over IP client or mayimplement a conventional telephone.

In certain embodiments, the system 100 may also include other hardwareand/or software components (e.g., gateways, proxy servers, registrationserver, presence servers, redirect servers, databases, applications,etc.) such as, for example, hardware and software used to support a SIP(Session Initiation Protocol) or other protocol based infrastructure forthe system 100 and allow the registration of SIP devices in the system100.

In implementations in which the user devices are embodied as mobilecomputing devices, such as laptop computers, the user devices 104, 106may implement one or more telephony soft client applications 108including or in communication with power management systems 110 inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention, as will beexplained in greater detail below. In addition, some user devices inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention may includepresence clients 112 that may receive and transmit presence informationto a presence server 114 and/or other user devices. The presence clients112 may provide presence information regarding the user, the device, orother users or devices to entities and applications running on the userdevice. An exemplary presence client system is the OpenScape system,available from Siemens Comm., Inc.

As will be discussed in greater detail below, the user devices 104, 106are configured to be put into a power-off state. According toembodiments of the present invention, when in this state, backup batterypower is provided to the network interfaces so the user devices 104, 106listen for and may receive incoming calls. When such calls are received,the user devices 104, 106 power up and boot, loading their telephonyclients 108 so that telephony operation is possible (typically,according to embodiments of the present invention, by using a quickbootprocess). In some embodiments, a password protection or computersecurity system may be bypassed or overridden when an incoming call isreceived or when an outgoing emergency call is to be made.

For example, in some embodiments, a power-on or other security system isprovided. In one typical power-on password protection system, a usermust enter a password in order to power up the mobile computing device.In one embodiment, the reception of an incoming call or the making of anoutgoing emergency call may be accepted as an override of a power-onpassword. It is noted that some systems may further provide a resourcespecific security protection system, also typically protected bypassword. Embodiments of the present invention, however, may likewise beused to bypass such protection, although discussion herein will focusprimarily on power-on protection. Systems for providing power-onpassword and other protection are known. One such system is described,for example, In U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,085.

Turning now to FIG. 2A, a diagram of a mobile computing device 104, suchas a laptop computer, that can be used to implement software andhardware embodiments in accordance with the present invention is shown.

FIG. 2A shows a laptop computer 104 that includes a “clamshell” housingor lid 203, display 202, keyboard 204, main housing 208, and cursorpointing device 206. The clamshell housing 203 typically attaches to themain housing 208 via one or more hinges and electrical connections. Theinside of the lid 203 typically includes a liquid crystal display orother video monitor 202 for implementing a user interface for thecomputer.

The cursor pointing device 206 can, for example, include a “track pad”and have one or more buttons for interacting with a graphical userinterface (GUI). The main housing 208 houses a CD-ROM (or DVD) drive214, system memory, and a hard drive (See FIG. 2) which can be utilizedto store and retrieve software programs incorporating computer code thatimplements aspects of the invention, data for use with the invention,and the like. Although optical disk 212 is shown as an exemplarycomputer readable storage medium, other computer readable storage mediaincluding floppy disk, tape, flash memory, system memory, and hard drivecan be utilized. Additionally, network storage, e.g., in a networkincluding the Internet can be the computer readable storage medium.

The housing 208 (or indeed clamshell housing 203) may include a one ormore microphones 216 and one or more speakers 218 a, 218 b.Alternatively, one or more of the housing 203, 208 may further includeI/O slots, pins, or ports for accepting external peripheral devices suchas external USB (Universal Serial Bus) microphones and/or speakers, aswell as connecting to the network 102. The housing may further includeone or more wireless interface devices for interfacing peripheralsand/or for access a wireless network “hot spot.”

The mobile computing device 104 may implement a telephony soft client108 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Thus, thetelephony soft client 108 provides a graphical user interface fortelephony operations, such as dialing, address book, etc. In addition,certain embodiments of the present invention may implement a securitybypass interface 220 that may allow a user to bypass a password entry ifan emergency call is to be made, or a call is being received, as will bediscussed in greater detail below.

FIG. 2B is a diagram of another view of the computer 104 and,particularly, of the clamshell housing 203. In the embodimentillustrated, the exterior of the clamshell housing 203 includes a wakeup control and interface 222. The wake up control 222 may be implementedas one or more touch sensitive pads or hard or soft keys. In operation,as will be explained in greater detail below, the wake up control 222may be used to activate the soft client 108, particularly for emergencyoperation.

More particularly, as will be explained in greater detail below, in someembodiments, a user can activate the wake up control 222 in order tomake a call. If the call is an emergency call, to a predeterminedemergency number, then he will be allowed to bypass the system power-onpassword entry process. However, if it is a standard call to anothernumber, he will be required to enter the password.

For example, in some embodiments, a full numerical keypad is provided.To make an emergency call, the user can dial the emergency number. Ifthe number matches a stored table of emergency number(s), the call willbe allowed, bypassing the security system. Otherwise, the system willwait for a password. In other implementations, the wake up control 222may be implemented as a single control key or pad, activation of whichcauses a pre-set emergency number to be dialed. In such implementations,it may be advantageous to provide a cover, such as a sliding cover (notshown) over the wake up control 222, so as to avoid accidentalactivation. It is noted that such embodiments thus allow dialing of theemergency number without requiring the user to open the lid 203 of thenotebook computer.

Other embodiments may make use of the GUI 202 on the interior of the lid203. For example, to make an emergency call, in such embodiments, theuser would press, click on, or otherwise activate the wake up control222. The mobile computing device 104 will wake and, upon the opening ofthe lid 203, present an interface such as interface 220 (Other exemplaryinterfaces are shown in FIGS. 6A-6C). In some embodiments, the user canthen select either password entry or emergency number entry. If the userselects emergency number entry, then in certain embodiments, thepower-on password is overridden and the telephony client 108 will callthe emergency number from a predetermined emergency number orpredetermined list of emergency numbers. In other embodiments, nopassword prompt or option is provided until the number is entered, inwhich case the mobile computing device 104 will compare the enterednumber to a predetermined number or list. If there is a match, then thecall is allowed. Thus, the user can bypass the power-on security systemif he needs to make an emergency call.

Otherwise, the user will need to enter the password to power-on thesystem. Thus, in order to call out to any number other than an emergencynumber, the user must enter the system password. It is noted that theinterface 220 may be implemented in various ways. Thus, the figures areexemplary only.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of components of the mobile computingdevice 104, e.g., personal, or laptop computer shown in FIG. 2A and FIG.2B. In some embodiments, the mobile computing device 104 may implementone more elements of the methods disclosed herein.

The system unit 11 includes a system bus or a plurality of system buses21 to which various components are coupled and by which communicationbetween the various components is accomplished. A processor 22, such asa microprocessor, is coupled to the system bus 21 and is supported bythe read only memory (ROM) 23 and the random access memory (RAM) 24 alsoconnected to the system bus 21. The computer 104 may be capable of highvolume transaction processing, performing a significant number ofmathematical calculations in processing communications and databasesearches. A Pentium™ microprocessor such as the Pentium III™ or IV™microprocessor, manufactured by Intel Corporation may be used for theprocessor 22. Other suitable processors may be available from FreescaleSemiconductor, Inc., Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., or Sun Microsystems,Inc. The processor 22 also may be embodied as one or moremicroprocessors, computers, computer systems, etc.

The ROM 23 contains among other code the basic input output system(BIOS) which controls basic hardware operations such as the interactionof the disk drives and the keyboard. The ROM 23 may be embodied, e.g.,as flash ROM. The RAM 24 is the main memory into which the operatingsystem and applications programs are loaded. The memory management chip25 is connected to the system bus 21 and controls direct memory accessoperations including passing data between the RAM 24 and hard disk drive26 and floppy disk drive 27. A CD ROM drive (or DVD or other opticaldrive) 32 may also be coupled to the system bus 21 and is used to storea large amount of data, such as a multimedia program or a largedatabase.

Also connected to the system bus 21 are various I/O controllers: Thekeyboard controller 28, the mouse controller 29, the video controller30, and the audio controller 31. The keyboard controller 28 provides thehardware interface for the keyboard; the mouse controller 29 providesthe hardware interface for the mouse 13 (or other cursor pointingdevice); the video controller 30 is the hardware interface for the videodisplay 14; and the audio controller 31 is the hardware interface forthe speakers 15 and microphone 16. It is noted that while the variousI/O controllers are illustrated as discrete entities, in practice, theirfunctions may be performed by a single I/O controller known as a “superI/O.” Thus, the figures are exemplary only.

The speakers 15 and the microphone 16 allow for audio communicationduring telephony operation. In operation, keyboard strokes are detectedby the keyboard controller 28 and corresponding signals are transmittedto the microprocessor 22; similarly, mouse movements (or cursor pointingdevice movements) and button clicks are detected by the mouse controllerand provided to the microprocessor 22. Typically, the keyboardcontroller 28 and the mouse controller 29 assert interrupts at themicroprocessor 22. In addition, a power management system 33 may beprovided which causes the computer to enter a power down mode if noactivity is detected over a predetermined period. The power managementsystem 33 may also cause the system to power up in response topredetermined commands, as will be explained in greater detail below. Inaddition, a screen saver disabler 54 may be provided, which may functionto disable the power management system's power down function during atelephone call. Such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,384,853,which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fullyset forth herein.

Further, as will be explained in greater detail below, the powermanagement system 33 is configured to power up or turn on the mobilecomputing device 104 responsive to reception of call setup signals or inresponse to the emergency wake commands, in accordance with embodimentsof the present invention.

One or more network interfaces 40 enable communication over a network46, such as a packet network like the Internet. The network interfaces40 may be implemented as wired or wireless network interfaces operatingin accordance with, for example, one or more of the IEEE 802.11xstandards and may also implement an IP telephony interface. Moreparticularly, the network interface 40 may include or implement an H.323Recommendation interface, or SIP interface, to allow for telephony ormultimedia communications via a packet switched network, as will beexplained in greater detail below. In addition, as will be explained ingreater detail below, the network interface 40, as well as the I/Ointerface(s), may include or be provided with a battery backup, toprovide power when the mobile computing device is turned off.

One embodiment of the present invention is as a set of instructions in acode module resident in the RAM 24. Until required by the computersystem, the set of instructions may be stored in another computermemory, such as the hard disk 26, on an optical disk for use in the CDROM drive 32, a floppy disk for use in the floppy disk drive 27, or theflash ROM. As shown in the figure, the operating system 50 and thetelephony client application program 108 are resident in the RAM 24. Theoperating system 50 functions to generate a graphical user interface onthe display 14. The telephony client application program 108 performstelephone functionality, including generation of a telephony clientwindow in the GUI. The GUI may be implemented, for example, as aWindows-compatible GUI. In some embodiments, it may be implemented via aweb browser interface running on, for example, Microsoft Explorer orMozilla Firefox.

Execution of sequences of the instructions in the application program108 causes the processor 22 to perform various of the process elementsdescribed herein. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry maybe used in place of, or in combination with, software instructions forimplementation of some or all of the methods described herein. Thus,embodiments are not limited to any specific combination of hardware andsoftware.

As will be explained in greater detail below, in certain embodiments ofthe present invention, the telephony client application 108 ismaintained in flash ROM 23 during a power down mode. When the networkinterface 40 detects an incoming telephone call, it sends appropriatesignals to wake up the microprocessor 22 and the power management system33. In a quick boot process, the telephony client application program108 is then loaded into RAM 24.

The processor 22 and the data storage device 26, 27, 32 in the computer100 each may be, for example: (i) located entirely within a singlecomputer or other computing device; or (ii) connected to each other by aremote communication medium, such as a serial port cable, telephone lineor radio frequency transceiver. In one embodiment, the computer 100 maybe implemented as one or more computers that are connected to a remoteserver computer, as will be explained in greater detail below.

FIG. 4 illustrates more particularly various components of a mobilecomputing device system in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention. Shown are a network interface 40, I/O controller 402, a powermanagement unit 33, a power supply 404, a battery backup 401, and asystem unit 406, which includes, e.g., the processor 22.

As will be explained in greater detail below, the battery backup 401provides backup power to the network interface 40 and the I/O interface402 while the mobile computing device is powered off. The networkinterface 40 and the I/O controller 402 provide signals to the powermanagement unit 33 indicating that a telephony wake event has occurred.In the case of the network interface 40, this is reception of anincoming call packet, as will be explained in greater detail below. Inthe case of the I/O controller 402, it is activation of the wake upcontrol 222, as will be explained in greater detail below. In responseto the wake up signals, the power management system 33 causes the powersupply to provide power to one or more components of the system unit(CPU) 406 and other system components. The CPU 406 also wakes and loadsthe telephony client from flash ROM to RAM.

Operation of an embodiment of the present invention is illustratedschematically with reference to FIG. 5. Shown in FIG. 5 are variouscomponents of the mobile computing device 104. As noted above, themobile computing device 104 may be turned off, if no activity has beendetected for a predetermined period, or may be turned off manually. Thepower management system 33 (FIG. 3) may still provide minimal power,however, via the battery backup 401, to the network interface 40 and/orthe I/O interfaces 28/29. In addition, the power management system 33implements, or is in communication with, a password protection systemand password bypass system 502 in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention.

In operation, the network interface 40 detects an incoming telephonecall. This can include, for example, the network interface 40 detectingpredetermined signals, such as SIP or H.323 call setup signals. Forexample, the network interface 40 may compare the signal with knownsignal and, if there is a match, the network interface 40 sends a signalto the power management system 33 and/or the CPU 22 indicating that acall is being received and that a power up/quick boot process is to beundertaken.

In certain embodiments, the signaling from the network interface 40 isused by the power management system 33 and/or CPU 22 to identify that anincoming call is being received and bypass a security system 502. Forexample, if a power-on password is required to be received as user inputvia the I/O 28/29, then detection or identification of an incomingtelephone call can bypass that requirement. Thus the system may beallowed to power up and boot and the telephony client 108 may betransferred to RAM 24 without entering the password, but only if thedetected signaling is an incoming call. That is, the password bypassunit 502 must determine from the network interface 40 that an incomingtelephone call is being received. If it is, it can override the passwordsecurity system to allow power on and allow the computer to boot. Oncethe computer has booted, telephony operation is allowed. It is notedthat the quick boot process typically is only a boot of those componentsnecessary for telephony operation and is not a complete boot of thecomputer system. It is further noted that, depending on the embodiment,access to the rest of the computer may be restricted; thus access isallowed only for reception of the incoming call.

Making a telephone call when the system is off and to bypass passwordentry when an emergency call is to be made is similar. For example, asnoted above, the user may press a wake up control 222 on the clamshelllid 103. This is detected by the I/O interface and may cause the systemto present or load an interface in which he can either enter a passwordto access the system, or select an emergency number control (e.g., FIG.6A-FIG 6C). Alternatively, the system may simply quickboot and dial thenumber automtically.

If he selects the emergency number control, the password bypass unit 502will override the password entry and allow power-on and the telephonyclient 108 will load and he can call out to the emergency number alone,without entering the password. Alternatively, the system can provide atext input for the user to enter the emergency number, or a countryspecific emergency number. If the country specific number is entered,the system can compare the number to a table (not shown) with validinternational emergency numbers to prevent unauthorized access. If theemergency number is not pre-loaded or otherwise preconfigured, theemergency number may be determined using, for example, the system andmethod for determining the emergency number in co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 07P10928, filed concurrently herewith, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully set forthherein.

Turning now to FIG. 6A, a diagram of an exemplary graphical userinterface that may be used when making an outgoing call is shown. Asnoted above, in some embodiments of the present invention, a securitysystem based on password entry is provided which prevents access tocomputer functions unless the password is provided. Embodiments of thepresent invention, however, allow emergency calls to be made withoutentry of the password.

In some embodiments, when the user selects the wake control 222, aninterface is provided, such as that shown in FIG. 6A. In particular, asshown, the interface 602 provides a password option 604 or an emergencycall option 606. The user may enter the password and be given access tothe entire computer. However, if the user enters an emergency number,the emergency number will be called by bypassing password entry, asdiscussed above. Alternatively, the user could simply select anemergency number call out using control 608.

In other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 6B, the interface 607 may beprovided. The interface 607 is a simple prompt for entering a number. Ifthe number entered is an emergency number, it will be dialed; otherwise,a password entry prompt will be provided.

In other embodiments, the wake control 222 and the emergency numberselection control 608 are the same, as shown in FIG. 6C. That is,instead of allowing both password entry and emergency call outselection, the wake control 222 could simply function to wake and callthe emergency number. As noted above, the number may be entered by theuser or retrieved from memory.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart 700 of an embodiment of the presentinvention. The particular arrangement of elements in the flowchart 700is not meant to imply a fixed order to the elements; embodiments can bepracticed in any order that is practicable.

Initially, in a step 702, the network interface 40 receives an incomingtelephony call setup packet. As discussed above, this may be a SIP orH.323 call setup packet, or other predetermined call setup packet. In astep 704, the network interface 40 causes the power management unit 33and the CPU 22 to wake up and/or turn on. In some embodiments, asdiscussed above, this can include bypassing a security system 502. In astep 706, the telephony client application 108 boots from flash ROM intoRAM. Finally, in a step 708, the incoming call is received.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart 800 of an embodiment of the presentinvention. The particular arrangement of elements in the flowchart 800is not meant to imply a fixed order to the elements; embodiments can bepracticed in any order that is practicable.

In a process step 802, a user can activate the wake up control userinterface, such as user interface 222. As discussed above, the userinterface 222 can be provided with a battery backup when the mobilecomputing device is turned off. The user interface detects the inputand, in some embodiments, is operable to provide a dialing option, i.e.,allowing the user to enter an emergency number, as shown at process step803, as well as password check or bypass functions. That is, sufficientpower may be provided by the power management system 33 (or batterybackup) and a quickboot process may be activated such that the functionsmay load to RAM. The dialing option at 803 may be provided via a dialingkeypad in the wake up control 222 itself, or in association with the GUI202. In a process step 804, the system determines if the call is to anemergency number. For example, in some embodiments, the user can enter apassword or select or enter an emergency number. In other embodiments,the user can enter a number; the system determines if it is an emergencynumber, e.g., by a local database lookup. In other embodiments, simpleactivation of the wake up control 222 will let the system know that anemergency call is to be made.

In a process step 810, if the call is an emergency call, the emergencynumber can be dialed (or entered and dialed). As discussed above, thiscan include a bypassing or overriding of the security system. Asdiscussed above, this can include the system determining a local countryemergency telephone number or accessing a pre-set number. In a step 812,the telephony client 108 is loaded to allow the emergency call access.

If, in process step 804, the user has selected “password,” or the systemotherwise determines that the call is not an emergency call, then he canenter it in a step 806. In a step 814, the password protection orsecurity system will check to see if the password is correct. If not,then access is denied, in a step 816. Otherwise, it is allowed, in aprocess step 818; if desired, the user can use full access to dial theemergency number, as shown at process steps 810, 812.

As noted above, embodiments of the present invention allow forincorporating presence information or presence states into the wake upprocedure. In particular, according to some embodiments, the mobilecomputing device may include a presence client that can be used to setpresence status. In such a case, the network interface may be providedwith the user's presence information. When the incoming call packet isreceived, the network interface can check if the user is deemed“present” or “in office” or other state indicative of availability. Ifso, then the network interface will wake up the computer and the callcan be received, as discussed above.

In some embodiments, potential presence states or device contexts mayinclude “available,” “non-available,” “busy,” “away,” “unknown,”“partially available” (e.g., a device may be “busy” on a voice channelbut available on an instant messaging channel), “be right back,”“present,” “not present,” etc. In some embodiments, differentapplications may be used to set, monitor or change a device context fora device. For example, software operating on a computer may allow anidentity to indicate manually or automatically that the computer isunavailable for email, instant messaging, file transfer or othercommunications at the current time, at a specific later time, during atime range, etc. As another example, a wireless and instant messagingcapable PDA may be considered as having a device context as “available”by a presence and availability service 114 (FIG. 1) when the PDA isonline and a device context of “unavailable” by the presence andavailability service 114 when the PDA is offline. In addition, atelephony program may define a user as “busy” when he is active withanother call.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary user interface that may be used todefine a user's current presence state. In the example shown, a dropdown menu 902 with predetermined choices is provided. As illustrated,the choices include Available, In Office, Busy, and the like. Inoperation, the user makes the choice of his status prior to closing downthe device, i.e., letting it go into power down or power-off mode. Thestatus is received or is readable by the system when a power ondetermination is made, as will be described in greater detail below.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart 1000 of an embodiment of the presentinvention. The particular arrangement of elements in the flowchart 1000is not meant to imply a fixed order to the elements; embodiments can bepracticed in any order that is practicable.

In a step 1002, the network interface can receive the current presencestate of the device or the device user. For example, as noted above, anexemplary presence state could be “Available.” In some embodiments, thepresence state may be set by the presence and availability client 112and transferred to the network interface 40 prior to powering down thecomputer. The last power on presence state will then be the one used bythe network interface if an incoming call is received.

In a step 1004, while the mobile computing device is turned off, thenetwork interface 40 receives an incoming call packet. As discussedabove, this can include, for example, a SIP or an H.323 call setupmessage or messages. In a step 1006, the network interface 40 accessesthe presence state and determines if the current presence state is onethat corresponds to user availability. If it does not, then in a step1014, the call is not answered (or is answered to a phone mail system).

If, however, the user is available, then in a step 1006, the passwordentry is bypassed in a step 1008 and the system is turned on, in a step1010, in a manner similar to that described above. In a step 1012, thesystem performs a quick boot which includes, for example, loading thetelephony client into RAM and booting enough of the computer to operatethe client 108. Finally, in a step 1014, the incoming call is answeredand allowed to be served by the client 108.

While specific implementations and hardware/software configurations forthe mobile computing device have been illustrated, it should be notedthat other implementations and hardware configurations are possible andthat no specific implementation or hardware/software configuration isneeded. Thus, not all of the components illustrated may be needed forthe mobile computing device implementing the methods disclosed herein.

As used herein, whether in the above description or the followingclaims, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,”“containing,” “involving,” and the like are to be understood to beopen-ended, that is, to mean including but not limited to. Only thetransitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of,”respectively, shall be considered exclusionary transitional phrases, asset forth, with respect to claims, in the United States Patent OfficeManual of Patent Examining Procedures (Eighth Edition, August 2001 asrevised October 2006), Section 2111.03.

Any use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., inthe claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote anypriority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another, or thetemporal order in which acts of a method are performed. Rather, unlessspecifically stated otherwise, such ordinal terms are used merely aslabels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name fromanother element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term).

The above described embodiments are intended to illustrate theprinciples of the invention, but not to limit the scope of theinvention. Various other embodiments and modifications to thesepreferred embodiments may be made by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

1. A method comprising: a network interface of a user device detectingan incoming call at the user device while the user device is in an offstate, the network interface comprising an interface that is operablewhile the user device is in the off state; the network interfacebypassing a security access system of the user device in response to thedetecting of the incoming call; the network interface causing atelephony application stored on a non-transitory computer readablemedium to load on the user device and causing only a portion of acomputer system of the user device to load on the user device such thatthe telephony application is operable while a remaining portion of thecomputer system of the user device remains unloaded; and receiving theincoming call at the telephony application such that a user associatedwith the user device may communicate with a caller of the incoming callvia the telephony application.
 2. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: accessing presence status information associated with theuser device; and determining if the presence status informationcorresponds to the user device being available; and if the user deviceis determined to be available based on the presence status information,bypassing the security access system of the user device and forwardingthe incoming call to the telephony application.
 3. The method of claim 2wherein the accessing of the presence status information associated withthe user device comprises the user device accessing the presence statusinformation when the user device is placed in an on state.
 4. The methodof claim 2 further comprising a presence and availability client storedon a second non-transitory computer readable medium transferring thepresence status information associated with the user device to thenetwork interface of the user device.
 5. The method of claim 4 furthercomprising the presence and availability client receiving an inputcomprising the presence status information associated with the userdevice from the user of the user device.
 6. The method of claim 1wherein the network interface has a back-up power source that isindependent of a main power source of the user device such that thenetwork interface may remain active while the user device is in the offstate.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the incoming call is a callaccording to Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) or H.323 Protocol.
 8. Themethod of claim 1 wherein if the user device is determined not to beavailable based on the presence status information associated with theuser device, forwarding the incoming call a phone mail system.
 9. Atelecommunication device, comprising: a device interface that isoperable while the telecommunications device is in an off state: anoperating system; a security access system; and a telephony applicationstored on a non-transitory computer readable medium; and wherein thedevice interface detects an incoming call at the telecommunicationdevice while the telecommunication device is in a power-off state; andwherein the device interface bypasses the security access system inresponse to detection of the incoming call; and wherein the deviceinterface causing the telephony application to be loaded at thetelecommunications device; and wherein the device interface causing aportion of the operating system of the telecommunications device to beloaded such that the telephony application is operable on thetelecommunications device while a remaining portion of the operatingsystem of the telecommunications device remains unloaded; and whereinthe telephony application receives the incoming call such that a userassociated with the user device may communicate with a caller of theincoming call via the telephony application.
 10. The telecommunicationdevice of claim 9 wherein the device interface accesses presence statusinformation associated with the telecommunications device, the deviceinterface determines if the presence status information corresponds tothe telecommunications device being available, and if the deviceinterface determines that the telecommunications device is available,the device interface bypasses the security access system.
 11. Thetelecommunications device of claim 10 wherein a presence andavailability client transfers the presence status information associatedwith the telecommunications device to the device interface.
 12. Thetelecommunications device of claim 10 wherein the device interfaceaccesses the presence status information associated with thetelecommunications device when the telecommunications device is placedin an on state.
 13. The telecommunications device of claim 9 wherein thenon-transitory computer readable medium on which the telephonyapplication is stored, comprises Random Access Memory (RAM) in thetelecommunications device.
 14. The telecommunications device of claim 9wherein the device interface causes a portion of the operating system ofthe telecommunications device to be loaded such that the telephonyapplication is operable on the telecommunications device while aremaining portion of the operating system of the telecommunicationsdevice remains unloaded in response to receiving an input of anemergency call number at a dialing option of the telecommunicationsdevice.
 15. A method comprising: activating a user interface of a userdevice, the user interface comprising a control interface that isactivated when the user device is in an off state; the user interfaceproviding a dialing option at the user device; the user interfacereceiving a first input from the dialing option; the user interfacedetermining if the received first input is an emergency number; if thereceived first input is an emergency number: the user interface causinga telephony application to load on the user device, the user interfacecausing a portion of a computer system of the user device to be loadedsuch that the telephony application is operable on the user device whilea remaining portion of the computer system of the user device remainsunloaded, and the user interface causing the user device to initiate acall to the emergency number after bypassing a security access system ofthe user device; and if the received first input is not an emergencynumber: the user interface providing a password entry prompt, the userinterface receiving a second input in response to the password entryprompt, the user interface determining if the second received inputmatches a stored password, and if the second received input matches thestored password, the user interface causing the user device to initiatean outgoing call to a location specified by the received first input.16. The method of claim 15 wherein the user interface causing the userdevice to initiate the outgoing call comprises the user device changingto an on state and initiating the outgoing call.
 17. The method of claim16 further comprising transferring presence status informationassociated with the user device to the user interface prior to the userdevice returning to the off state.
 18. The method of claim 15 whereinthe user device comprises a mobile computing device and the mobilecomputing device is a computer, a PDA, a telephone, or a cellulartelephone.
 19. The method of claim 15 wherein the outgoing call is acall according to an Internet Protocol and wherein the Internet Protocolis Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) or H.323 Protocol.
 20. The methodof claim 15 wherein the user interface determining if the received firstinput is an emergency number comprises comparing the first receivedinput to a table comprising valid international emergency numbers.